80 Artists To Watch In 2014

From the moment we heard 18-year-old Saint Raymond we were captivated by his catchy guitar driven pop hooks. It looks like a lot of other people in the UK felt the same too as debut EP and seen it shot up the iTunes chart when it was released last May.

We predict big things for this guy if he chooses to release a debut album in 2014.

Martin Garrix

Martin Garrix has already hit the #1 spot in the UK with his irresistibly catchy single “Animals“, and we can’t help but feel that the Dutch 17-year old hasn’t even come close to the peak of his music making abilities. Expect at least another couple of solid dance anthems to come from his corner in 2014.

Sam Smith

What don’t we already know about Sam Smith? Very little probably, considering he has already hit the #1 spot in the UK with the untouchable “La La La” with Naughty Boy. What we are excited about is his debut album which is set to be released early in 2014, with the lead single “Money On My Mind“, which you can sample below:

Vance Joy

The rest of the world normally has a time-delay on picking up hitmakers from New Zealand and Australia, and Vance Joy is no exception. Already rather big in his native country, his biggest hit thus far, “Riptide“, is starting to permeate the daytime airwaves of Radio 1. Expect further domination to follow in 2014.

Joel Compass

Another UK R&B star signed to a major label, Joel Compass already has a solid back catalogue which indicates he should be a mainstay for time to come. His collaboration with Pusha T on “Run“, also proves that he could have crossover appeal in the US too.

SaneBeats

Trap music is still riding the wave of popularity that Dubstep started to experience a decade ago, and SaneBeats has positioned himself at the forefront of the UK attack. His productions so far easily disguise his young age as they sound tremendously polished.

Hozier

As we were writing this it was very pleasing to see the inclusion of an act representing Ireland as it has been threadbare thus far. Hozier does a great job of making up for it though as his single “Take Me To Church” was one of our favourite releases in 2013.

He’s already created big hype in his home country, and 2014 will see his popularity spread overseas.

Dream Koala

Parisian Dream Koala is following in the footsteps of artists like XXYYXX and Shlomo with his dream like releases. We welcome more releases with open arms.

AYER

Making his impact on the scene a relatively short time ago, NY-based AYER has already attracted several admirers with the two original tracks that he has posted online. Soft falsetto vocals backed by intricate electronic productions have got us hooked, booking himself a spot on our list in the process.

Scrufizzer

Delivering an impressive set of singles, as well as appearing on Danny Brown‘s “Old“, Scrufizzer is the latest UK MC to graduate through the underground ranks. Signed to Black Butter records, we are hoping for a couple of left-field releases in 2014.

Evian Christ

Evian Christ was training to be a teacher in the UK, before his YouTube music postings caught the attention of Kanye West who drafted him in to help out with production duties for “Yeezus“. Quite the platform to set himself up for 2014.

Fryars

Fryars already has huge popularity in the UK thanks to catchy singles such as “Cool Like Me” and “The Power“. Grinding away in the public eye since 2007 is set to pay off in 2014 with the release of his long-awaited debut album.

Paul Woolford

With an impressive template set for him in terms of chart viability, Paul Woolford’s piano-led single “Untitled“, which became an underground hit in the latter half of 2013, has been rumoured for a re-release on Sony which should see an appropriate amount of backing to make it a soundtrack for 2014 and beyond. Expect a plethora of similarly danceable tracks from the multi-talented producer in the coming year.

Cashmere Cat

A string of aliases culminated in Norwegian producer Magnus August Høiberg finding fortune as Cashmere Cat, a heavily in-demand producer with a notorious genre-bending reputation. With an impressive catalogue of collaborations and remixes under his belt already, his intuitive balance of left-field productions and pop sensibilities came to a head in his recent single “With Me“, which sees a release on Lucky Me as a part of his upcoming EP this January.

Josef Salvat

Australian singer/songwriter Josef Salvat has been trickling out some amazing singles over the past 12 months or so, with the intentions to release his debut album at some point in 2014. Although he surprisingly seems to have quite a small following on social networks, we can’t help but think this is a temporary glitch.

Expect him to receive even more solid support from national radio in the coming months.